A small U.S. clinical trial suggests that combining psilocybin-assisted therapy with structured counselling may offer new hope for veterans living with severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
The research, published in Communications Medicine, found impressive symptom improvements while also showing the treatment could be delivered safely in a carefully monitored medical setting.
PTSD affects many military veterans who have experienced combat or other traumatic events. Symptoms often include distressing memories, nightmares, emotional numbness, irritability, and difficulty maintaining relationships.
Although existing medicines and psychological therapies help many people, others continue to experience disabling symptoms for years.
In this study, researchers at The Ohio State University recruited veterans whose PTSD had not improved despite previous treatments. Participants completed weeks of psychotherapy before and after receiving two supervised doses of synthetic psilocybin, the active compound related to that found in so-called magic mushrooms.
By one month after treatment, three-quarters of the participants no longer met the criteria for PTSD. Researchers also reported a large overall reduction in clinician-rated symptoms, while no serious safety problems or increases in suicidal thinking were detected during the trial.
The investigators emphasized that the medicine should not be viewed as working on its own. Instead, they believe psilocybin temporarily creates a mental state that allows patients to process painful memories more effectively during psychotherapy and continue making positive changes afterwards.
The study also highlighted one veteran’s experience, describing how years of unsuccessful treatment were followed by significant personal improvements after participating in the trial. Although individual stories cannot prove effectiveness, they illustrate how meaningful successful treatment could be for people with longstanding PTSD.
The researchers will continue following participants and hope to launch a much larger randomized controlled study. Such research will help determine how much improvement comes from the medicine, the psychotherapy, or the combination of both.
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Source: The Ohio State University.
